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Here Are The Top 3 Web Design Trends We Predict For Brands In 2023

Posted by Ghazi Jeiroudi on August 25, 2023

The world of web design moves fast. What might have been considered cutting-edge or user-friendly last year is already outdated and out of touch.

Web design is the process of creating a design solution for a website that balances visual hierarchy, functionality, and usability. The most important elements of website design are those that contribute to the overall functionality and usability of the site, such as the layout, navigation, and content.

A web designer must consider these elements and how they work together to create a cohesive and effective design. Code is also an essential part of web design, as it determines the functionality of the site and plays a role in its overall performance. While there are many free versions of web design tools available, it can be beneficial to invest in a paid design solution to ensure that the website has all of the necessary features and functionality. Ultimately, the goal of web design is to create a website that is visually appealing, easy to use, and serves the needs of the target audience.

If you’re looking for ways to refresh or create a website for your brand or business, check out our top 3 predictions for web design trends in 2023.

Oh, and for the record, some of these web design trends might not work for your business or brand. Some might even be a huge mistake. But don’t worry, we’ve also included the pros and cons of each web design trend so you can decide which is right for you.

Trend #1 – Infinite Scrolling Websites

Infinite Scrolling Web Design with Infinite Web Pages on Mobile Devices

Infinite-scrolling websites are becoming increasingly popular; we predict this trend will continue in 2023 and beyond.

Infinite-scrolling websites allow users to see more content without scrolling through the whole page. It also creates a more effortless user experience since responsive design is built-in as they can scroll through the content using their thumbs on mobile devices.

What do infinite-scrolling websites look like? Think Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But it’s not just for social media. You’ll often see these scrolling websites used for blogs and news articles, allowing users to quickly scroll through articles without loading a new page every time.

Many brands won’t need infinite scrolling websites, but if your website offers a blog, news, or a community, the infinite scroll could allow your visitors to engage more deeply with your content.

PROS:

Improved user experience: Infinite scrolling can create a more seamless and intuitive browsing experience for users, as they don’t have to click through to different pages to view more content. This can be especially useful for websites with a lot of content, as it allows users to easily browse through all of it without having to constantly click through to new pages.
Increased engagement: Infinite scrolling can also encourage users to spend more time on a website, as they can keep scrolling and discovering new content. This can be beneficial for sites that rely on engagement, such as social media platforms or news websites.

CONS:

Some designers argue that infinite scrolling websites unintentionally encourage bad browsing habits, such as scrolling the site without engaging with any content.
SEO challenges: Infinite scrolling can also present challenges for search engine optimization (SEO). Because there is no clear hierarchy or structure to the content on the site, it can be harder for search engines to crawl and index the pages. This can make it more difficult for a website to rank well in search results.
The psychological effects of scrolling through an infinite number of posts on a website for hours have been well-documented (also known as ‘doom scrolling’).
Studies also show that people underestimate their scrolling speed, overestimate the time they spend looking at something, and often miss what is in the middle of the feed because they scroll so quickly.

Trend #2 – Video Backgrounds

Responsive web design with responsive design for video backgrounds and ux design

Video backgrounds were initially used in the late 1990s to promote a sense of personalization to customers. Today, businesses use them in their web design to stand out from their competitors and create an immersive experience for their website visitors.

A website background is the first thing people see when they visit your site. Therefore, turning it into a video is a great way to catch people’s attention.

Web designers love them, too, as they’re not expensive, easy to create, and can be changed anytime.

What makes a video background appealing?

The video should have the correct dimensions.
Videos should loop seamlessly.
The video should be relevant to the website (design, theme, and nature of business)
The video should have a high resolution

PROS:

We’re naturally drawn to things that move. Video backgrounds can tap into this with engaging motion making it more visually striking and memorable for users. This can be especially useful for websites in creative industries, such as design or fashion.
Showcasing your personality and style through video backgrounds incorporated into your web design is a great way to keep customers engaged with your brand. Web design that incorporates video backgrounds can be especially effective for showcasing products or services, as they can provide a more immersive and interactive experience for users.

CONS:

Many people aren’t keen on video backgrounds on websites, arguing that it’s not suitable for the user experience and can make specific tasks less efficient.
Slow load speeds can discourage website visitors and can be a negative in basic UX design with load speed being a core tenant in good web design and SEO.
Video files can be large, which can slow down the loading time of a website. This can be a problem for users with slower internet connections or for users who are accessing the website on a mobile device. It’s important to carefully optimize the video file to ensure that it doesn’t significantly impact the loading time of the website and detract from the overall UX design and flow of the overall web design process.

However, many examples of websites have found success with video backgrounds, most notably Netflix and Instagram.

Trend #3 – Adaptive websites

Adaptive website design with responsive design and ux design for a web page

Adaptive websites are built with the idea that each user has a different screen size, device, or internet connection.

Unlike responsive websites that automatically adjust to the size of the screen, adaptive websites require different code for each type of device, giving each user their own customized experience.

This allows adaptive websites to serve content in the correct format, size, and color to appeal to visitors on different devices with different intent and interests.

Examples of adaptive websites include:

Google’s search results pages
Amazon’s homepage
Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine
Twitter

PROS:

Adaptive web design can make your site load faster, improve user experience through better UX design, and reduce device download time by automatically serving the right information.
Visitors won’t be waiting for your website to load, as it will only load the information and features necessary for the device they’re using. This means an adaptive website takes less time to load than a responsive website.
Adaptive websites improve the user experience by only showing visitors what they want and need to see, tailored to their device.
Everything from image size and resolution to layout and structure, adaptive websites dynamically cater to visitors more than responsive or static sites.

CONS:

One of the disadvantages of adaptive websites is that they are not accessible to users with disabilities.
With an adaptive website, the layout and content are automatically adjusted based on the size and orientation of the device. This can limit the control that designers have over the look and feel of the website, as they must design within the constraints of the various device sizes and orientations.
The HTML5 framework has limited accessibility features, while WCAG 2.0 framework is an international standard for web accessibility.
As new screen sizes and technology evolve faster, adaptive websites must be regularly maintained to keep working. This increases the cost of running an adaptive website over responsive or static sites.

When to hire a web designer

designing websites with a web designer building a web design with a website builder

Web design is not easy because it requires creativity and knowledge in programming to produce an eye-catching, well-functioning, user-friendly website. That’s why web designers are in high demand.

If your’e like most people, you don’t have the time or skills to design your own website. Creating new and iterative web designs from scratch and learning (and adopting) best practices in UX design is a long process if you’re a novice. Thats why hiring a web designer can be a good option.

A web designer can handle the design process from start to finish, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. A good web designer will incorporate user expectations, usability tests and focus on a target audience.

A good web designer will also create a color palette and maybe even custom typography to produce aesthetically pleasing site content that incorporates standard design elements in an iterative process to maximize visual appeal to produce the ‘perfect’ UX design for your target audience.

One thing to watch out for is that many web designers use templates or themes (even free version ones they charge you for) to quickly create their websites without doing any of the hard work to come up with new UX design solutions for your target audience and re-using important elements from other sites that have nothing in common with yours and not incorporating any visual hierarchy.

There is also the issue of copyright infringement when using templates for web design, which could lead to lawsuits if you accidentally use someone else’s copyrighted material on your website via the template.

So there you have it. Our top 3 web design trends we predict for 2022 and beyond.

images of website design using code and usability elements

Whether you’re planning a new website development or thinking of ways to refresh your brand and online presence, these three web design trends could inspire a modern website that engages visitors on a whole new level.

Just remember, context is everything.

Not all trends will work for your brand, business, website, or objectives. Some of these web design trends could have adverse effects, as highlighted in the ‘cons’ above.

This is why it’s always a good idea to consult with a web design and web development agency; they will tailor trends and fresh ideas to suit your brand and achieve the correct goals for your website.